i will only let you bend
by cyclothimic
Summary: "I didn't think that when she comes back, she'd come back this way." / She expressed a bitter smile and rested her forehead against the glass. "She's not back," she whispered. / Fitz was quiet before he agreed, "No, she's not." [part 2 of Quake series]


**hello! so this is the second part to _you're the antidote to everything (except me), _as promised. :)**

**read, ponder and enjoy!**

* * *

_If you came to me empty handed_

_I'd brave your ocean to bring you home_

_And if you came to me empty hearted_

_I'd find the pieces to make you whole_

_-Empty Handed, Lea Michele_

* * *

Jemma buried herself into her work. From day to night, she flittered around the Playground, testing DNA, performing autopsy, running tests. She had no time to rest.

"You're not giving yourself time to rest," Fitz interrupted her line of thought. She looked up from the microscope and to her best friend. He was staring at her with concern and a little of irritation. "Stop giving us – or _yourself_ – excuses."

"My job here is important," she said.

"What, and your health isn't?" he retorted.

She sighed in annoyance, wishing he would go away. "I can take care of myself, Fitz. You don't have to worry about me."

"I don't have to –" He cut himself off when she jumped back, surprised by his suddenly loud voice. He put his arms to his waist as he stared down at his feet with his eyes closed. She watched as he drew calming breaths.

"I can take care of myself," she repeated.

His head shot up, his eyes filled with full on annoyance. "I _have_ to worry about you, Simmons. Every morning, when I wake up, you're already in the lab working. You barely eat. You barely put some downtime for yourself. I don't think you even _sleep_ nowadays!" he exclaimed.

It was only when he stopped that she realized how concerned he actually was. There were drops of sweats beading on his forehead. His hands were clenched so tightly she could see the whites of his knuckles. And then there was his never ending habit of tapping his foot when he was nervous.

"Everyone's worried about you."

She ducked her head, her fingers fidgeting. She glanced at the microscope, the blurred edges of the eyepiece because how often she'd been using it for the past week. Somewhere deep inside her, she knew why she was doing this. She refused to acknowledge it. She started when a hand touched her shoulder gingerly.

Fitz was squeezing it gently. He kept his eyes on his hand on her shoulder. "When you were gone, I hallucinated about you." She frowned, trying hard to not hug Fitz. His lips then curled into a bitter smile. "You would always put your hand on my shoulder like this. To calm me down, I suppose. Well, not _you_ you, but…"

"I'm sorry, Fitz," she breathed.

"Skye wouldn't want this for you."

She moved away from his touch abruptly, backing into the lab table behind her. "Don't speak of her," she said, her tone cold and detached.

"Jemma," he articulated. "You can't deny that it happened no matter how much you're trying to. She came back."

"She didn't," she snapped. She pressed her temples harshly with her thumb and forefinger, her eyes covered by the juncture. "That's the point: she _didn't_."

* * *

"You know what I think?" Fitz said, when they were alone in the lounge room binge-watching Doctor Who.

She turned to him. "What?"

His eyes remained intent on the screen. His hands were throwing the remote back and forth. "I think she wants to come back."

She tensed. And then she slowly turned back to the TV. "We're not doing this, Fitz."

* * *

She still did her job. She did it spectacularly. She and Fitz started working together again and it may have taken some time to regain their rhythm, they still did. And when they were back on track, they were once again the perfect team.

Nonetheless, she also learned to give herself some downtime. She would take an hour of break after four hours in the lab. In that time of break, she would make herself tea and join Fitz in the lounge room or watch May train with Bobbi in the gym or read a book in her own room. And then she would go back to work.

After dinner, she would join her team in the lounge room and watch some crappy movies. Sometimes, she would ask Bobbi to help her with target training. The woman had refused at first but Jemma insisted, claiming that she needed to have a basic level of that skill if she was going to go on field missions.

Bobbi was surprised at first, because Jemma had never ever wanted to go on field missions. That one time she did, she came back almost crying her lungs out.

She still hated using firearms. She hated fighting in general. But she needed it. She knew she needed these skills. She was a SHIELD agent for Christ's sake. The least she could do was knowing how to get out of a perpetrators grasp without calling for help.

"Are you sure you're not trying to distract yourself from something?" May had asked once after one of her sparring sessions – or falling-on-your-face-more-times-than-you-count sessions – with Bobbi.

She'd shaken her head and went to shower and change for bed.

At night, when she would lie in bed with sore muscles and exhausted mind, she couldn't help but wonder as well. Only she couldn't wonder long before she drifted off to sleep.

There were talks of a gifted or an enhanced on the prowl. She watched the clip in the briefing room with them, or what was left of them. Because Hunter was kidnapped and they just found out Mack and Bobbi weren't all that "_yay SHIELD_" after all.

She figured she could handle it, what with Ward. But she couldn't. Because Bobbi had become one of her closest friends and she'd betrayed them. Bobbi talked about working for the real SHIELD and all that but Jemma still found it hard to not feel betrayed.

And before they could be apprehended, they were gone. Fitz had tried scouring the satellites and hacking into impossible networks to look for them but his skills were only just so. The only person who would be able to do it was the one person she wasn't sure she could see.

As if their hands weren't full enough, Coulson gathered them all – May, Fitz and her – in the briefing room and showed them the clip.

They watched as the man threw up tables and literally tore a woman's head from her neck. Jemma could hardly fight the bile rising in her stomach.

"He looks familiar," Fitz commented, face a little green.

Coulson gave him a knowing look. "_Cal_."

Jemma's head would have snapped off if it were more fragile by the speed she took when she turned to him. Her eyes were wide with horror and shock. They hadn't heard from him in a while. But now, he was here.

"We need to stop him before it gets too far," Coulson continued. "There was a witness who saw the van he was driving. Seems like he wasn't really trying to be inconspicuous. And he claimed there were more in the van."

"You ran his plate?" May asked.

Coulson nodded and drew another window to the screen. "Just got alerted to the same van driving into Wisconsin."

May scoffed, "Really?"

His lips twitched in a sardonic smirk. "Really," he confirmed. "He's trying to lure me and I think I know exactly where he's going."

"Let's go then."

* * *

Turned out Cal had assembled a small team of enhanced humans: woman with claws, man with insurmountable strength, man with comparable technology skills and man with a fatalistic voice box. Jemma found herself reminded of Logan when she knew of the woman.

Turned out they didn't have to do much as well. Jemma's new combat skills weren't put to use. Fitz didn't have to whip out his DWARVES to distract them. May only got land a few punches in on Noche.

Karla Gideon was closing in on her with a menacing glint in her eyes and her claws drawn when the ground started shaking. Jemma panicked at first, thinking it was an earthquake.

And then she saw the group of five approaching them from the entrance to the stadium in remarkable speed, recognizing one of them as Skye. Carl, who had been engaged in a heated conversation with Coulson, was suddenly standing in a hemisphere of transparent blue, as if it was water. A man dropped from the top of the hemisphere and stood next to Carl. Jemma felt chills in her skin when the man – _eyeless _\- smirked at Carl, knowing exactly where he was even when he couldn't see, and then wrapped his arm around Carl.

And they were gone.

In the next moment, one of the man from the group who had been speeding towards them was suddenly between May and Noche, tackling him to the ground.

And then another was standing in front of Levi, not doing anything, smirking and speaking inaudibly. Jemma's first thought was that he was ridiculous but then it was replaced by amazement when Levi stood up and crushed his laptop to the ground submissively.

Angar was being tackled by a woman who had _wings_ and _swords_ protruding from her wrists. She first sliced his wrists and before he had a chance to yelp, she slapped on a muzzle on his face, silencing him. She then knocked him out with her fist, where the sword had retracted, and then she laughed.

All this happened in a moment and Jemma could barely process it before a woman was standing in front of her. The ground had already stopped shaking. Jemma could easily recognize the woman in front of her even without looking at her face. And she whispered her name.

Skye pushed her back. She stumbled into Fitz who was as flabbergasted as she was. Skye leaped forward and tackled Gideon to the ground, avoiding her hands. She still couldn't avoid it when one of Gideon's claws scratched across her back and she yelped. Jemma wanted to rush forward but Fitz held her back.

Skye then yelled, "Anytime now, Raina!"

"Did she –" Fitz didn't have to finish her sentence before both of their predictions were revealed to be true.

Raina leaped out from nowhere and Skye rolled away from on top of Gideon. The remarkably transformed woman took her place in a second and Gideon shouted in pain at Raina's protrusions puncturing into her, enough to cause massive pain but not enough to kill.

In a matter of fifteen minutes, Cal and his gang of mischiefs were taken care of.

And Jemma couldn't take eyes off Skye who had managed to stand up and looked as if nothing had happened. Except there was still a jarring large slash across her back, bleeding profusely.

Nevertheless, Skye refused to meet her eyes. Or even look at her. She just glanced behind her and then grunted in pain. Before Jemma could reach her, Raina was already there, one arm around Skye's waist, supporting her. Jemma couldn't fight the twinge of jealousy in her.

Jemma felt Fitz approaching from behind and they gradually regrouped with their team while Skye gathered with hers. Except, Jemma still thought that Skye belonged with them instead of with her group of gifteds.

They faced one another, as if they were about to have another sort of stand-off. A woman in a wheelchair had joined Skye's group and was at the forefront of the group. It was obvious that she was like the team leader.

"Thank you," Coulson finally said, eyes darting between Skye and the woman in the wheelchair.

Jemma wondered what her role was; what her abilities were.

"You're welcome." The woman looked to the back, to Skye who was looking anywhere but them. "I think you already know Skye." Coulson nodded somberly. "Well, we had ulterior motives by being here, to be honest. But you don't need to know what it is. Anyway, since we're done here, it's time we take our leave."

Jemma watched as each of them turned to leave. She wanted to say something – ask for Skye to stay, to _look _at her – but the words were sealed in her mouth. She could only watch vainly, screaming for Skye to even just _glance _at her inside.

And then, it was as if Skye could hear her innermost thoughts, because she lifted her head and met Jemma's eyes.

Her breath was taken away when she saw the apology and concern and deep adoration swimming in the depths of Skye's eyes. She whimpered quietly and winced when Skye's face twisted in pain as she turned to follow her people.

"We need your help," Fitz blurted from behind her. All of them turned to him, some wondering, some shocked. Jemma was one of the shocked ones. "Skye, we need your help."

"You already had her help," the woman in the wheelchair said stonily.

Fitz shook his head, stepping forward bravely. "We need her expertise, not her power," he stated. Without even waiting for them to question, he began to explain the Bobbi and Mack situation in the briefest way possible. "So, you see, we need your help to track them down."

They looked to Skye who looked torn between wanting to help and shirking from their pleas. Jemma could sense the uncertainty in the girl and it was confirmed when she turned to her team leader. The woman only shrugged.

"It's your decision, Skye."

Skye swallowed and clenched her jaw. The sweat matting her hair and beading her forehead was increasing in intensity and Jemma could see it wasn't merely from exhaustion. The slash across her back was taking its toll on her.

"She needs a doctor," Jemma said for the first time. Skye turned to her, eyes wide. "I'm a doctor."

"You're a biochemist!" one of them stated with a scoff.

Jemma's eyes turned stony and stern. "I'm perfectly capable in helping to heal Skye's wound. And if you hadn't noticed, she's losing a lot of blood."

"We have a healer in our midst."

"Enough!" Skye yelled. And that seemed to have absorbed all her energy because her knees collapsed and Raina had to use all her strength to lift her up again. "I'll go with them."

* * *

As instructed, May and Fitz and Coulson carried Skye's limp body to onto the table. Jemma dug out all her tools and began to work on stopping the blood loss and stem the wound.

Jemma was reminded of a similar situation just last year, when everything was nearly fine and dandy without Hydra attempting to cripple their operations. Jemma was reminded of the panic and cold fear slicing through her body like a sharp knife. Jemma was reminded of the possibility of losing Skye once again.

Even though this time, Skye's injuries weren't as serious as last year's. They still managed to put the fear of god in her. Jemma promised once again that she would do everything in her power to keep her alive.

It all happened in a blur. She could barely remember a thing of what happened. All she knew was that she had done everything in her power to save Skye. When the last stitch was in, Jemma relaxed just a bit, propping her elbows on the table and supporting her forehead in her hands. She couldn't care less about the blood – Skye's blood – staining her skin and hair.

Two hours later, when Jemma was freshened up and changed into more comfortable clothes, she went to the medical pod where Skye was in and watched through the glass as Skye slept, her chest lifting and falling – signs that she was still alive.

"I didn't think that when she comes back, she'd come back this way."

She expressed a bitter smile and rested her forehead against the glass. "She's not back," she whispered.

Fitz was quiet before he agreed, "No, she's not."

* * *

"You saved me again."

Jemma looked up from her tablet, gaping at Skye who was apparently very awake. She blinked a couple of times before she abruptly got to her feet and started meddling with the wires, checking Skye's vitals and taking scans. She muttered medical jargon under her breath as she inspected every inch of Skye.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew Skye was fine. Skye was more than fine, because Jemma had done a spectacular job, fixing her up. But she just needed this. She needed an onceover to give her mind some much needed peace.

Thankfully enough, Skye knew her enough to keep quiet and let Jemma do her thing. She stayed quiet and did as Jemma told her to: lift your arm, does that hurt, what about here.

"What's the verdict?" Skye asked, her voice came out bare and hoarse. "And can I have some water?"

Jemma handed her the glass of water on the bedside table and watched as Skye sipped from the straw appreciatively. "You're fine," she answered.

Skye nodded and moved to replace the glass but her arm could only reach so far before she winced in pain. Jemma took the glass from her and put it back on the bedside table. "I always knew I'd be fine when you're the doctor," Skye said.

Jemma could only offer a smile that hung between polite and awkward. "I'm not gonna let you break, Skye."

"Well, now that I'm fine, I think it's time we get to work," Skye said, sensing Jemma's discomfort.

"Oh, you're not getting out of that bed," Jemma said. She then pursed her lips, realizing what she just said. That was probably the first real sentence she'd spoken to Skye since their dispute in the woods. "Your wound still needs time to heal completely."

"I can work well in bed too," Skye said. "Besides, you all need to get to the bottom of this as quick as you can. And I'm here to offer my services."

Jemma nodded and stood up. "I'm going to get the director and see what he has to say." She headed for the door and punched in the code to open it. Before she closed the door behind her, she looked to Skye with a barely masked expression of fear. "You're not going to run off again this time, are you?"

Skye offered a reassuring smile. "I'll say goodbye this time, Jemma."

As much as she wanted to feel reassured and comforted, Jemma was not. But she nodded anyway and went on her way. As she walked down the hallway towards Coulson's office, she couldn't help but think that Skye was _still_ going to say goodbye. It was just a matter of when.

* * *

**obviously, there's gonna be a third part. stay tuned! ;)**


End file.
